Axl Rose Says New Album Will Come Out ‘Sooner’ Than ‘Chinese Democracy’

Axl Rose will never not be Axl Rose, and that truth is strangely comforting. Knowing he exists and is milling around in trackpants, doing things–like working on a new Guns N’ Roses album, for example–is like knowing that somewhere in the world is a community of mythical creatures poised to jump out and yell “Surprise! We’re real!” Weird, inexplicable anticipation.

Turns out Axl is legitimately working on a new record, though the specifics are vague at best. He told USA Today, “All the guys are writing, and we recorded a lot of songs over the years. We’ll figure out what we feel best about.” Adding, “I do want to lean more toward lyrics and melody.” When asked if the new album might yield the same fate as Chinese Democracy, he cited trouble with personnel as the reason for the delays and that the next album “will come out sooner.” (Of course, ‘sooner’ could mean anytime between 1 and 12 years.)

He also dissed ex-girlfriend Stephanie Seymour and ex-bandmates Slash and Duff McKagan, claiming they “did more damage to my ability as a writer” and were largely responsible for the songwriting slump he experienced while writing Chinese Democracy. “To those three, it was all crap. It beat me down so much. At the time of the [Use Your Illusion] tours, Slash and Duff said, ‘You’re an idiot, you’re a loser.’ I didn’t write for years. I felt I was hindered for a very long time. I was also trying to figure out what I wanted to say, when it’s right to be venting and when you’re digging a bigger hole. Lyrics on Chinese took a long time.”

As for a possible GNR truce: “I feel that ball’s not in my court. I’m surviving this war, not the one who created this war.”